Parks & Rec: A Semiotic Analysis

In this post, I have chosen one advertisement for NBC’s Parks and Recreation, and I am going to offer my own semiological analysis.

( http://parksandrecreation.wikia.com/wiki/Season_3 )

First of all, semiotics is the study of signs. Signs are made up of signifiers and signifieds. A signifier is the different pieces of the images and the words that describe them. Then a signified is the meaning of these signifiers put together.

There are many different signifiers in this photo, and these can all give us an insight on who each of the characters are.

Leslie Knope, who is the main character of the show, is located in the center of the image. This shows that she is the most important, and the show is centered around her.

Ann Perkins, who is sitting in the chair to Leslie’s right, is Leslie’s best friend. I think that her placement in the image displays that she is always by Leslie’s side. And I think that sitting in a chair shows her laid back attitude.

Ron Swanson, who is sitting in the other chair, is Leslie’s boss. Again, I think that the fact he is sitting in a chair shows that he is more laid back, and doesn’t take his job too seriously. But his posture and facial expression show his serious attitude.

April Ludgate, standing on Leslie’s left is the office intern.  Her posture and facial expression shows that she really doesn’t care too much. But her positioning next to Leslie displays that she is a important character and plays a large role in the show.

Andy Dwyer, on the far left of the photo is Aprils Boyfriend. His facial expression shows his silly and fun personality. Then his positioning on the outside of the image shows that he is a much less important character than some of the others.  Also, his outfit shows that he is very casual and not highly professional.

Tom Haverford, on the far left of the photo is another worker in their parks and recreation office. He works very closely along with Leslie. His positioning towards the front of the image shows that he plays a large role in the show. And his outfit shows that he is kind of extravagant. He is the most dressed up out of everyone, and this really goes along with his personality.

Donna, Chris, Ben and Jerry are all towards the back of the image. They are all other workers in the parks department. They do play a role in the show, but their characters are not quite as important.

Also, the image takes place outdoors, around an office desk. This portrays that a lot of their work has to do with parks and the outdoors, however most of the show takes place in an office.

All of these signifiers tell us so much about the characters in the show. Using semiotics, we can look at the image, and find out about the show without even watching it. It is easier to interpret what the image means when you have seen the show and are familiar with the characters, however you can still learn these things just by dissecting the signifiers and determining the signified.